Survivors group points to cracks in visa system for foreign priests after 8-year-old First Nations girl abused

There are too few checks and balances for international members of the clergy who come to work in Canada, according to a group that advocates for survivors of sexual abuse at the hands of religious leaders.

A Roman Catholic priest has been accused of sexually assaulting an eight-year-old girl in a remote Manitoba First Nation, and the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) says it's too easy for a foreign priest to be seconded into a Canadian congregation by using religious visas, with little, if any, scrutiny of their backgrounds.

"There has to be a higher screening and a higher supervision rate when it comes to just allowing someone to come in and drop their bags into a parish community," said Mike McDonnell, a spokesperson for the network in an interview from his home near Philadelphia on Friday.

Arul Savari, 48, who is originally from India, is facing a myriad of charges involving the alleged assault of the girl in Little Grand Rapids First Nation, and Manitoba RCMP say they've identified other potential victims.

The eight-year-old girl was alone with the priest after he asked her to help him clean the church when he allegedly touched her inappropriately, RCMP said earlier this week.

Savari has been living in Winnipeg for six years and served in Little Grand Rapids for the same amount of time. He serves the Catholic Church under the Archbishop of St. Boniface.

Savari was also the priest at nearby Pauingassi First Nation.

As far as RCMP are aware, the priest only served in those two First Nations while in Canada.

After his arrest, the Archdiocese of St. Boniface said Savari was suspended from all ministerial duties and "forbidden to have anything to do with former parishioners and children."

Alistair Clarke, an immigration lawyer in Winnipeg says that from an immigration perspective, it's not a standard requirement for people who enter the country as religious workers exempt from work permits to provide a background check or child abuse registry. 

He said the federal government would rely on the employer or the religious institution to do that check.

A border patrol officer would have the authority to check on the person's background if there are concerns about their criminal background, Clarke said.

It's not clear how Savari entered Canada, or if he had an exemption for a work permit because he is a religious worker.

In 2017, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops adopted a policy to verify identity, screen for criminal background and child abuse history, and encouraged other dioceses to adopt it. At that time, many dioceses had a similar policy in place.